


The Mother of the Boy

by domo_in_a_lunch_box



Series: To Control the Burning Flames [3]
Category: Static Shock
Genre: Gen, TCTBF universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-14
Updated: 2015-02-14
Packaged: 2018-03-12 19:46:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3353117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/domo_in_a_lunch_box/pseuds/domo_in_a_lunch_box
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Maggie Foley never could have expected that any of this would happened. Warming up to Francis Stone was probably going to be the hardest part of all of this. </p><p>[Snapshots of the interactions between Maggie Foley and Francis Stone. Begins after the events of chapter 9, "It's a questioning", of TCTBF. Can probably be read independently, but it's more of a supplemental piece to TCTBF]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. It's a threat

**Author's Note:**

> This chapter takes place directly after chapter 9 of TCTBF

Maggie Foley had to take care of a few things before she could make her way to the station to join her son to testify. She was still a bit shocked about the whole situation. Her husband had just been arrested, found out that her son and her friend have been romping around the city as superheroes fighting dangerous, criminal bang babies, and she suspected that her son now had a boyfriend who was not only a gang member, but also a bang baby. She was greeted by Officer Maria Hernandez as she entered the police station.

"Mrs. Foley! Over here." Officer Hernandez called to her.

Maggie jumped a bit at her own name. "Oh, O-Officer Hernandez. Hello."

"Please, call me Maria." She smiled at Maggie.

"Ok, then please call me Maggie." Maggie tried to smile.

Officer Hernandez placed a calming hand on her arm. "It must be hard for you right now, considering everything that happened within the past few days."

Maggie just nodded and tightened her grip on her bag strap. "It's just a lot to take in. There's a little more happening in my life than just what's happened with my husband."

"Is some of it about your son and…" Officer Hernandez trailed off, not sure if Maggie is on the same page.

"My son and that man?" Maggie finished. She sighed. "I have a feeling, but I haven't been told anything for sure. I don't even think I know his name. All I can remember was hot-something."

Officer Hernandez let out a small laugh. "He's known as either Hotstreak or F-stop, depending on who you talk to. His name, though, is Francis Stone." She squeezed Maggie's arm gently. "Hey, you are probably thinking the worst right now, about you son being involved with a criminal, but from what I've seen, Francis cares for him. He is very protective of him. This might be the optimist in me, but I really think that Richie might become the catalyst that makes Francis clean himself up."

Maggie looked Maria in the eyes for the first time. "You really think that?"

Officer Hernandez nodded her head in enthusiasm. "I've seen enough kids come through here to know that much. I've even dealt with Francis before. This is the first time I've seen him care about anything, let alone another human being." She paused for a moment. "Richie's a tough kid. He can handle himself. He also seems to have a close relationship with Static and Gear. They won't let Francis get away with anything."

At Officer Hernandez's words, she remembered the conversation she had with Static in Richie's bedroom the day he disappeared.  _Yes. Richie,_ Gear _, can handle himself._  "Thank you."

"Come on. I'll take you to go see him."

Maggie began to follow her before remembering why she was here. "Wait, Maria. I'm supposed to give my statement concerning my husband."

Officer Hernandez made a wave with her hand before placing it gently on Maggie's back to keep her moving forward. "It can wait a few more minutes."

They walked in silence for a few turns, working their way through the halls of the station before coming upon what seemed to be a break room.

This was probably the last thing Maggie expected to see. Francis Stone and her son were locked in a deep hug. Richie had his arms wrapped around Francis' neck tightly; Francis had his arms locked around Richie's back almost just as tight. The look on Richie's face was so calm and so relaxed that Maggie almost thought it was someone else. The fact that seeing her son look so calm when embraced by another was surprising was itself, surprising to her. She came realized that it has been quite some time since she has seen Richie out and about with his friends. She smiled as she noticed the subtle way Francis' hand moved along Richie's back in a comforting gesture.

It was if Richie was a precious treasure that Francis wanted to keep safe. She smiled.

It was in that moment that Richie noticed his mother in the doorway. He broke away from Francis almost immediately. "Mom! Are you done with your statement?" His face flushed a deep red. Francis shoved one hand into his pocket and scratched the back of his head with the other in embarrassment.

"No, Maria suggested that I come see you before I did. I'm glad I did." She noticed Static and Officer Marone standing behind Richie. "Hello Static, Officer Marone."

Officer Marone tipped his head. "Ma'am." He placed a hand on Richie's shoulder. "I need to talk with Officer Hernandez for a minute. Static, you'll keep an eye on Hotstreak?"

Static did a mock salute. "Yes sir."

He nodded to Francis as he left with Officer Hernandez. He grabbed the door on his way out.

"See Mrs. Foley, I told you I'd bring Richie back." Static said as he slung an arm around his friend's neck.

"Thank you, really." She noticed her son's attempt to say something. She placed a hand on his arm. "Richie it's ok. I don't expect you to come back to the house immediately." All three men in front of her looked completely confused. "You obviously have someone who cares greatly for you. If staying with them for the time being helps you through this then that's fine with me."

Francis spoke up. "Mrs. Foley, I-"

Maggie stepped directly in front of him. "I don't care who my son decides to date as long as they make him happy. That being said, if you  _ever_  hurt him, I will make you regret every single second of it."

Francis blinked a few times in shock. "Y-yes ma'am."

Maggie placed a caring hand on Francis' cheek and smiled before turning around to face her son again. "Can I have a hug Richie?" Richie's only response was stepping into his mom's arms and burying his face in her sweater. "Know that I'll always love you sweetie."

"Hey Rich," Static interrupted. "I guess this would be a good time for me to tell you that your mom knows about us." Richie turned his head and gave Static a bizarre look. Francis was also giving him a similar look. Static realized what his statement sounded like and flailed a little more ungracefully than he would willingly admit. "No! I meant the superhero-ing thing! She knows who we are!"

Richie finally pulled back from the hug and looked his mom square in the eyes. "Wow, mom, I…" He fumbled with his words.

"I may not be on board with everything yet, and we will have a talk about all of this properly later, but I will say that I won't keep you from doing what you feel you have to do. Remember that I'm still your mother and I will be worried about everything you do."

"How did you…" Richie still couldn't find his words. The fact that his mother knew just about everything was a bit shocking.

"I figured it out when I found Static in your room re-reading your runaway note." Richie turned back to look at his friend. "I thought he was you when I heard movement in your room."

Richie kept looking between his friend and his mother. "Virgil. Why didn't you tell me she knew?"

"Don't come at me for not saying anything! You were so hyped up about the gay thing that I didn't have a chance to tell you!"

Richie let out a sigh. There was a knock at the door before it was opened by Officer Hernandez.

"Sorry to interrupt, Maggie, but I think we should get that statement now. Lapinski just gave me a lecture on punctually getting statements."

Officer Marone snickered as he passed, entering the room. She glared daggers at his head.

Maggie nodded. "I'll see you later Richie. At the very least, you three should come by for dinner tonight, even if you don't stay. I want to get a chance to know Francis a little better."

"Ok mom. I will." Richie smiled at her. He stole one more hug from her before she left with Officer Hernandez.

Officer Hernandez shut the door behind her.

There was silence in the room for a bit. No one knew what to address first, if anything.

Francis spoke first. "I like your mom. She's nice." Static broke into laughter, almost keeling over onto the floor. "What's so funny about that?"

Static finally collected himself. "Dude, this is the first time meeting Mrs. Foley. She basically threatened you and you think she's nice." He had to pause to recollect himself. "I just think that's hilarious!"


	2. It's a cup of tea

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Takes place between chapters 9 and 10 of TCTBF.

It was late. Maggie found that she couldn't sleep. It had been a week since her husband was arrested. Her bed felt oddly empty. She rolled over and looked up at the ceiling. With a sigh, she gave up trying to sleep. She sat up and turned on the light. She looked around at the room in front of her. Sean's things stared back at her. Giving up on sleep entirely, Maggie got up and pulled on her bathrobe. Quietly, she left her room and padded down the hall towards the closet. She didn't notice the other person in the hall until she walked right into them.

"Oh Richie, I'm-" The hands that steadied her were too strong to be Richie's.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Foley! I should have been paying attention." She looked up at the face of Francis Stone. "Are you alright?"

"I…yes. I'm fine." Maggie took a deep, shaky breath.

"Did I startle you? You seem a bit shaky." Francis worried.

Maggie rubbed her arm to try to dispel the chill that has come over her. "I'm just a bit chilled. It's nothing. How's Richie?"

His expression dropped as he turned to look at Richie's room. He looked back to Maggie before speaking. "If you ask Richie directly, he would probably say that he's fine."

"That's why I'm asking you." Maggie looked directly into Francis' eyes.

"He…he still has a lot of residual fear, spite, and anger left in his system with no real outlet. Sure, he lets some of it out when he's superheroing but it's not the same as taking out your anger on the source." He looked away. "I should know."

Maggie placed a hand on his arm. "Do…would you like some hot tea?" Francis looked up at her, shock present on his face. "I know that a cup of tea usually helps me relax and fall back to sleep."

"I…uh…sure. Yes. I'd love some. I just…I was on my way to the bathroom earlier. I'll join you downstairs in a minute?"

"Take your time. The water takes a few minutes to heat up."

She gave him a soft smile before moving past him and down the stairs. She made her way into the kitchen where she started to prepare the tea. She placed the kettle on the stove and leaned against the counter.

Francis Stone was probably the last person she thought would have been sharing space with her son. Sure, she suspected that her son might have been gay since he was young, but she never would have expected Francis. He was sweet though. If she looked past the criminal aspect, she could see a young man who made a few wrong choices along the way. She was pulled from her thoughts as the kettle began to whistle. Francis entered the kitchen as she pulled the kettle from its place on the stove.

"Francis, could you grab me two mugs from the cabinet?"

"Sure. Which cabinet?"

"The one over the toaster." She answered as she pulled out her tea box.

"Here you go." Francis placed two mugs lightly on the counter next to the stove.

Maggie pulled a chamomile tea from the box. "Here, pick a tea." She offered the box to Francis.

She poured her mug as he looked through the tea box. He pulled out an earl grey tea bag and handed it to Maggie. "Where do I put the box?"

"It goes on the counter next to the blender." Maggie unwrapped the tea bag and began to pour the water. "You like earl grey?" She replaced the kettle back onto its usual place on the stove.

"It was my mom's favorite. She would make a mug for each of us every morning after my dad left for the day. He didn't quite approve of the idea of a man drinking tea."

Maggie handed him his mug with a faint smile. "Let's sit at the table."

"Ok."

Maggie took a seat at the head of the table, Francis sat along the side. He looked over at her. She was holding the mug close in both hands, gently breathing in the smell of her tea. She would blow on the tea every few seconds to try and cool it down. Francis took a sip of his own tea. The flavors brought up memories of his mother smiling at him over her own cup. He looked back at Maggie, noticing a slight look of surprise.

"What?"

"Oh, it's nothing. It's just, the water is still too hot to drink."

"Oh! I-" He fiddled with the tea bag string with one hand. "I have fire powers. Heat can't burn me." He pointed at her mug. "I can make that cooler is you want."

"You can cool things too?"

"Well, not exactly. I can move heat from one place to another, but only on a small scale."

Maggie nodded. "Well, I appreciate the offer, but I like to hold my warm mug and enjoy the smells while I wait to drink it."

"I can understand that. My mother loved to do that too."

Maggie brought her mug back to the table. "Tell me about her, your mother." Francis looked up at Maggie. "It's ok if you don't want to though."

"No, it's fine." He took another sip of his tea. "It's just, no one has ever asked about her before."

"What did she look like?" Maggie tested the hotness of her tea.

"I get my looks from her. She had the most amazing red hair. It used to be so long she could sit on it. She would always keep it in a braid." His expression fell. "She cut it all off one day after my father came home really drunk, worse than usual." Maggie placed a hand on his arm. "At the time I couldn't figure out why. It wasn't unusual that he would come home and throw things around. I realized later that she cut it off because he had used her hair as a grip."

"I'm so sorry." Maggie squeezed his arm gently.

"It was a long time ago, but thank you." He took another sip of tea. Maggie took a sip. It appeared that her tea had finally cooled off. "She was fierce. She protected us as much as she could, but I could tell that it was harder and harder for her to stay strong. She left when I started high school."

"She was a brave woman."

"She left us."

"She stood up to your father. That's more than I ever did for Richie."

He looked towards her, but Maggie's eyes were fixated on the tea in front of her. "Your bravery is in the form of lasting long enough to last longer than Sean."

"I'm still not sure how to handle him being gone though." Maggie lifted the mug for another sip. "All of his things are still in our room as if he was only on a business trip."

"You think you'll ever pack them up?"

"I want to. It's as if they are mocking me sometimes. Tonight, I couldn't sleep and ended up sitting up and turning on the lights. His things seemed to stare at me, daring me to do something. I was going to get his suitcases in the hallway closet when I bumped into you."

"Why don't you just throw everything into boxes?" Francis took a big sip of tea.

"He'd expect that. It's also not in my nature. I guess there's also a part of me that wants to show him, one last time, what it is that he's lost. I was going to pack his clothes in the suitcases, and then box up his belongings as if we were moving."

Francis huffed out a small laugh. "Kill them with kindness."

Maggie laughed too. "I guess you're right."

"It's probably not my place, but if you need help with anything, I'd be willing to give you a hand."

"Thank you Francis. You're very kind."

They heard a scuffling sound and looked up towards the doorway. A very sleepy Richie leaned against the door frame rubbing his eyes under his glasses.

"Hey Richie." Francis said softly. "Want a cup of tea?"

"Hm?" Richie fixed his glasses on his face and sent a quizzical look towards the two at the table. Indeed, there was a cup of tea in Francis' hand. "I don't drink tea. Since when do you drink tea?"

Maggie laughed lightly. "Apparently, he used to drink it as a kid."

"I never pictured you to be a tea drinker." Richie crossed his arms and smile at the two in the kitchen.


End file.
